The Thing with Feathers
by jessylane318
Summary: "Beryl-sama," she said honorably, "please save me." ... The woman smiled, and for a brief moment, Kagome caught something feral in the early light of dawn. "Of course."
1. Prologue

**The Thing with Feather**

Jessylane318

**Prologue**

Higurashi Kagome cried.

It wasn't that this was a new occurrence, after all she'd spent most of the last five years crying about something: boys, lost friends, boys, shards, one specific boy. It had all started her fifteenth birthday, that unlucky day she had fallen down the family well chasing that stupid cat, Bouyo.

But what should have been a nasty fall, ended up with her being dragged 500 years into the past—the feudal era past to be specific. Breaking a priceless magic jewel, waking up a slumbering demon, creating anarchy and chaos at every turn... It was little wonder she had survived so long.

Still, after all of the adventures, after all of the near death experiences, it had to end like? A tiny scratch made more difference then a thousand swords, a thousand miles, and a thousand fears.

Kagome was dying.

And it wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair that she'd made up all those excuses to go on adventures, creating tons of lies of illnesses that would never be, and it was illness that killed her.

Twenty years old and she was dying…

Kagome coughed through the tears, wheezing into a tissue. A nearby nurse's hand grabbed her shoulder to steady her, and rub her back. She shook her head and leaned back, a bloody tissue in her lap. Pale, thin fingers clutching it desperately, shaking with the effort.

It had been six months since she had found out, six months of torturous medicines, painful treatments, and worsening coughs. Her once proportionate figure now seemed angrily thin, with joints poking painfully out of place.

"Water," she croaked, raspy and tired.

The cold water burned.

"Ms. Kagome," whispered one of the nurses. She turned enough to see a large woman with a gentle smile. Yumi, the woman had been there since she had first been admitted. "We're going to give you some medicine to numb the pain."

She knew what that meant, and didn't fight the pinching or the slow numbness that spread through her. In a strange way she fell asleep, half-awake to stare at the ceiling. She was dying, and there was no InuYasha to save her this time.

* * *

_Nobody knows this little rose;_  
_It might a pilgrim be,_  
_Did I not take it from the ways,_  
_And lift it up to thee!_

_Only a bee will miss it;_  
_Only a butterfly,_  
_Hastening from far journey,_  
_On it's breast to lie._

_Only a bird will wonder;_  
_Only a breeze will sigh;_  
_Ah! little rose, how easy_  
_For such as thee to die!_

* * *

The darkness of night had crept upon the hospital when she awoke again. A small stuffed dog was nestled in her arms that smelled like foxes and sandalwood. On her bedside she noticed another addition of cards, maybe six or seven. Bags of useless herbs peaked out of the drawers, and a thousand cranes littered the room. Her friends were wishing her well, a hopeless endeavor though.

Her time was coming short.

With a heavy sigh she stared at the dog again, too tired to try and reposition it better. It stared up at her with the huge golden eyes that reminded her of her first love—InuYasha. It even wore his haori, a bright fire red garment.

"Father," she whispered, knowing no one would hear her. "I'm coming soon."

She thought she caught a glimpse of sunlight as she faded into sleep again.

* * *

_**Angels** in the early morning_  
_May be seen the dews among,_  
_Stooping, plucking, smiling, flying :_  
_Do the buds to them belong ?_

_Angels when the sun is hottest_  
_May be seen the sands among,_  
_Stooping, plucking, sighing, flying ;_  
_Parched the flowers they bear along._

* * *

She was dead. There was no other explanation for the beautiful creature at the end of her bed. A figure dressed in purple with hair as red as blood and a face pale as moonlight. She looked vibrant, glowing with energy and strength. Her power set Kagome's sense alight.

Scents of perfume like honey and lilac filled the room, and the bright flowers suddenly seemed to dull in the woman's presence.

"Kagome-chan," said the angel, using the honorific for friend. "You're dying my child."

For a moment, she felt confused. Was she not already dead? There was no pain, what was going on?

"If you would like, I can save you," said the woman, her face serene and serious. "My name is Queen Beryl and I am ruler of the Other Kingdom."

"The Other…" croaked Kagome. She had never heard of such a place, was this another delusion? Would she wake up to find herself wrapped in bandages again, having gone into a fit over another medicine induced dream?

"Yes, child. I am a great sorceress, and I would be able to heal you, except my power alone is not enough. I would require something of you to make it permanent."

The Queen came forward and touched her, and with a simple touch, the burning sensation in her throat stopped, and she swallowed. Amazed, and in some fright. With wide eyes she looked back up at the woman in awe.

"Beryl-sama," she said honorably, "please save me."

And in that instant all the fight that had slowly been drained away, came back full force. She wanted to live again; she wanted to be normal again, to have friends again, and to wake up in the morning without the undulating pain.

The woman smiled, and for a brief moment, Kagome caught something feral in the early light of dawn.

"Of course."

And then a hand came forward and fingers crimson in color dove straight at her chest. Pushing down on her chest, she felt the breath leave her, and as she struggled to breath, the world began to blur. Lights and colors swam into darkness, and an intense pain overwhelmed her.

And Higurashi Kagome died.


	2. Chapter 1

**The Thing with Feathers**

Jessylane318

**Chapter One**

_The Murmur of a Bee_  
_A Witchcraft — yieldeth me —_  
_If any ask me why —_  
_'Twere easier to die —_  
_Than tell —_

_The Red upon the Hill_  
_Taketh away my will —_  
_If anybody sneer —_  
_Take care — for God is here —_  
_That's all._

_The Breaking of the Day_  
_Addeth to my Degree —_  
_If any ask me how —_  
_Artist — who drew me so —_  
_Must tell!_

Higurashi Kagome awoke early in the morning afraid and confused. Sitting up gently, she marveled at the simple creak of her back, the popping sensations, and the flex of her fingers. She looked down… dare she even think it? Was she really free?

"_I would require something of you to make it permanent._"

The queen's words came back haunting, along with her actions. She had died that night; she had felt her body stop breathing, her heart stop beating, and her soul slip away. But she was alive.

How was this real?

This didn't make any sense.

Pulling herself out of bed, Kagome teetered on the floor, feeling strangely heavy. She took a look at her surroundings. It was a small room, European almost, with a queen sized bed, and a sheer-laced canopy. The night stands were made of a white wood with golden lamps, and the floor had a heavy blue carpet—like the evening sky. A balcony lead out from her bedroom and the fresh air made her smile.

It had been months since she'd seen more than the ugly white walls, or tasted the sweet flavor of sunshine. She had missed this, the beauty of the morning.

Turning around she went to explore the bathroom, and found it housed a walk-in closed, a very beautiful tub that she would be enjoying later that day, and a large decorative mirror. Looking in the glass, she was surprised at the strange face staring back. Her jet black hair, dull and falling out, was replaced by thick brown curls. Her hazel eyes were green instead, and the pale skin from months of no light was now a deep bronze, almost an olive complexion.

She touched her face, curious, and ran fingers through the curls.

This was so… surreal.

Prying herself away, she found the place had a small kitchen with a beautiful living room set, and all of the cupboards completely stocked. Whoever she was, they were very well-off.

On the living room table she found an envelope and a large brown package addressed to her. Curious, she opened it to find a set of keys and a letter inside. It read:

_**Dear Higurashi Kagome,**_

_** My name is Kunzite, I am a servant of Queen Beryl, and will be your advisor. I will also be giving you assignments in the future. At the moment, however, I am sure you are curious to your current whereabouts. As of now, Higurashi Kagome is now dead. Your name is Kuroda Kagome. You were born on February 27, 1989 in the Tokyo Hospital. Your entire family died in a house fire, and you're living on your own off of your family's inheritance.**_

_**Currently you live in the Arisugawa Hills in Azubu, Tokyo. You will be attending the Azubu private school as we believe that the people you are seeking live in that area. Which brings me to your assignment; you are to collect information on some thieves known as the Sailor Senshi. There are five of them, though only three have been spotted. They stole our Queen's silver crystal, and without it we are unable to fully heal you.**_

_**You will need to take the medicine in the cabinets every three days. I will be in contact with you once a week. There is a charge card in the top kitchen drawer where you will receive about 40,000 yen a month1. The brown package included has your school uniform and a communicator watch you need to keep on you at all times. It will allow us to get in communication in case of emergencies.**_

_**Regards,**_

_**Sargent Major Kunzite**_

_**Commander of the Middle Eastern Front**_

Kagome put down the paper and took a deep breath, trying to contain all of the information, before picking it up again. She read the note over three times more before frowning at the paper. So she had died, but she was alive? That didn't make any sense.

But whatever the queen had done, wasn't enough to make her completely well, she would have to recover this crystal before they could complete the job. Well that seemed easy enough, except it was jewel hunting that had gotten her into this trouble to start with. Still, she was better off than where she was.

And who was this Kunzite? Whatever a Sargent Major was, it sounded terribly important. Why was he being put in charge of her?

Folding the paper neatly, with too many questions rummaging through her head, she tucked it back into the envelope it came from and opened the other package. The uniform she pulled out had a gray skirt instead of the green one she was used too. Putting it aside, she found the communicator; it was fashioned like a watch, except that when you pulled the clock face up, there were about six buttons, each a different color, and a tiny speaker. She shut it quickly, not quite wanting to bother whoever had done all this, and contemplated her next step.

Standing up, she grabbed the card out of the kitchen, stuffing it into the jeans she had woken in, and left to go shopping.

* * *

Kagome walked down the street quietly, examining the different shops. The roads looked vaguely familiar and Kagome recalled the family doctor lived near this area.

She smiled at the arcade shop she passed.

It was larger than the one near where she lived, and her brother, Souta, would probably spend all of his allowance to try and beat that new Sailor V game the consoles had just released. Walking further down the street, she turned into one of the smaller stores, caught between a jewelry shop and an ally.

"Welcome to KDDI, how can we help you today?"

KDDI was one of the top cell phone carriers in Japan. She had always wanted a phone, but her grandfather's fear of most advanced electronics had prevented her and her brother from getting one unlike the rest of her schoolmates.

"I'd like to buy a phone."

The woman bowed and then moved to show her the different cases.

"Certainly, which kind would you like?"

Looking into the glass, she marveled at all of the different colors, shapes and sizes. There must be fifty phones stuffed into the display, with plastic covers all next to it. She felt like she was sure InuYasha had, when he first climbed out of the well with her. All these choices were overwhelming compared to the feudal method of scream as loud as you can until someone saves you.

"I… I don't know," she said, before gazing at the prices. At these prices, she could buy a month's worth of groceries for her friends.

"Well may I suggest the Aquos Phone?" she pulled out a slender pink phone, and held it out. "It has a sliding keyboard as well as a touch screen. It includes a GPS navigator, music players, E-mail, and many more features that I can list for your convenience."

Kagome felt her eyes open wide.

Touch screen? That sounded like those futuristic movies she'd watched in middle school with Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. Had she been gone from her world so long to not even notice, much less appreciate their advances?

Suddenly, a sense shame fell on her.

"I'll take it," she said, clutching her fists and pushing away the feelings. The woman smiled and bowed, before hurrying to the back to find her phone. It only took a few moments, and then she answered all of the questions to activate it.

"Have a good day!" called the woman as she left, and Kagome smiled back, bowing slightly. She intended to.

Once she was on the street again, Kagome looked at the phone carefully, sliding it open before pressing the familiar numbers she'd had memorized since she was six.

Zero-eight-seven-seven-seven-three-two-two-two-one.

Hitting the green button in the corner, she put the phone to her ear, listening to it ring, knots forming in her stomach. She heard a click, and a voice come on the phone, a voice she had never heard before.

"Katsumi speaking, how may I help you?"

"I was calling to speak to the Higurashi Mina," she said, stumbling over the words a little bit. She heard the voice on the other side sigh, and huff almost in annoyance.

"Yeah, you and everyone else," replied the lady. "She moved kid. Her, the grandpa, and the boy all left and moved out of town and didn't leave an address. Apparently her daughter died recently, tragic event and all, she was quite young. I guess they wanted to get as far from the memories as possible."

Kagome felt her fingers go slack; her heart curl into a knot, and tears began to well.

"Do… Do you have a phone number? Anything?" she stuttered out, her voice hoarse again.

"No, sorry kid. Hey, you okay? You close to them or something?"

Kagome closed the phone and walked solemnly to the closest bench. They had left… Her family, her closest support was gone. She had already been forced away from one family, but now to lose her other one, the one that had _always _been there…

She took deep, steady breaths remembering what the doctors had told her about oncoming panic attacks.

She stared at her feet, trying to think of something, anything, but the weight in her chest refused to budge. They were gone, and so was she. She was dead, a ghost walking in another person's body. She threw her face in her hands and blinked away the tears, trying, desperately to be strong.

She was alone now, utterly and completely alone, but she could do this.

She just needed to be strong, like InuYasha.

Taking a couple more deep breaths, she composed herself, and began to earnestly think. Sitting out on the bench, listening to the cars pass by and the busy pedestrians crowd through the streets, she took comfort in the noise. She needed a plan.

Her family was somewhere, but they weren't gone, so there was hope, right? All she needed to do was track them down. But first, she needed to be healed, so she didn't hurt them anymore. Oh she could just imagine their surprised faces when they saw her, curly hair bushing out of control, bright green eyes. Souta would probably jump on her in excitement, and her mom would probably cry. Grandpa would think she was a demon of course, and attempt to exorcise her.

She laughed at the image running around in her head, before shaking her attention back to the problem at hand. She needed to return Queen Beryl her crystal. But how to do that? If a Queen with enough magic to save the dead couldn't stop them, what hope did she have?

And why pick her especially?

"JERK!" she looked up in surprise, expecting to see Sango, one of her best friends from the feudal era, but instead found herself looking at a short blonde, her hair done up in buns like meatballs, with long strands of hair falling out behind her.

That was a lot of hair.

She watched the girl storm away, a man watching her go as well.

"Jeez," he said. "She's the one that hit me!"

Kagome giggled beneath her breath and stood, walking towards some of the other shops. The first step was getting into school. She needed to figure out which of the students were Senshi, and which were not. To do all of that, she was going to need some paper… Probably a lot of paper, actually…

* * *

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" screeched Kagome's phone.

She felt like throwing it at the door, and questioned herself for a moment, why the hell did she think that was cute to wake up to?

The obnoxious sound came again, urgent and incredibly loud, and Kagome scrambled through her bed to find the source. What was she thinking? And where did that blasted phone run off too?

Rolling a bit too far, in her sleep-hazy daze, Kagome reached towards the night stand and managed to pick up the phone just as she plummeted out of bed onto the floor. She felt her head smack against the night stand, and growled in pain, ignoring the loud rooster crowing _again_.

"Shut up!" she complained, angrily pressing random buttons. She smiled when she realized there was silence once again, and pulled the drawer open to swallow some aspirin.

Getting up she rushed through a shower and dressed carefully before going to admire herself in the mirror.

Her curly hair was frizzy and wild, even wet, and found herself enraptured by the strange image looking back at her. Running a comb through the hair did little more than make the hair stand further on end, and the curls tended to curl in on themselves, tangling badly in ways her old hair didn't.

"Never thought I'd miss my old hair," she complained, even as she twisted it back in a very poufy ponytail. With that done, she looked at the make-up drawers carefully. It wasn't that she didn't like make-up, but mascara was a safety hazard with curious demons and a lot more trouble than she generally found worth.

But this was her chance to start again. Her chance to redefine herself, and nobody would know. Nobody would question her change of tastes…

Looking at the bright red lipstick, she shook her head, putting it back down, and walked back into the kitchen, glancing at the clock. Fifteen more minutes and she'd have to leave for school. She placed the pop-tart in the toaster and grabbed some milk out of the fridge. Taking a sip, she almost gagged at the terrible taste.

"The hell!" she cried, rinsing out her mouth. "Who bought expired milk?"

Pouring it down the drain, Kagome growled, cleaning up the mess as the toaster went off. Placing the empty jug on the counter, she grabbed the pop-tart and her briefcase of school supplies. Taking a bite she walked out the door, locking it behind her.

* * *

The private school was large and expensively built. It resembled a western building in almost all aspects, except for the large stone tigers guarding the entrance with a ferocious stare. She walked nervously ahead, ignoring the other students' stares.

For all of its hugeness, the student count was far below the average public school count. There weren't any more than about 300 students total in all of middle school. That was less than half of what the public school housed. And for a moment, Kagome thanked the Gods that this was all she had to search through. Imagine having to find the Senshi in the public school?

Shaking her head, she marched up the steep entrance and into the school. The main office was directly to the left, and she noticed at once several students gathered around one of the secretary's desks. When she entered they all immediately hushed and looked at her.

The secretary rose and cleared his throat softly, bowing slightly.

"You must be Kuroda Kagome," he said, shooing away the other students. They looked annoyed but left, all but one that is. "Welcome to Azuban's most prestigious private middle school, we are certainly happy to have you here. Because you are half of a semester behind, we have assigned you a tutor to help you get through the semester."

Kagome nodded and looked over at the young man standing beside her. He was clearly Japanese and probably a bit of a nerd, he wore large, thick glasses and his uniform was pressed neatly—too skinny to be athletic and too male to be a Senshi.

"It's nice to meet you," bowed the boy, fifteen years old at max. "My name is Ohira Asuga; I am the President of the upper classes. I am here to help show you around and if you need help catching up I'd be willing to tutor you as well."

Kagome bowed back, and tried to smile at his stuffy exterior.

"Thank you."

The secretary gave a large grin and motioned them on just as the warning bells began to ring.

"Here is your schedule Kuroda-san," said Ohira patiently, using the –san suffix to denote politeness. "I will walk you to your first class. You have Geometry with Kimino-sensei. You'd do well to sit in the front of the class as he will mutter important facts during class."

They passed a group of teens who looked rougher than the rest of the school, their uniforms unbuttoned and their grins feral.

They laughed uproariously as they passed, and Kagome noticed at once that three of the members were girls with heavy make-up and chains. Perhaps finding the Senshi wouldn't be as hard as she imagined.

"You will need to watch out for them," said Ohira, noticing her gaze. "They're dangerous, and the only reason they aren't locked up is because their parents are on the school board and have a ton of money."

"Do they…" she struggled on how to word her question. "Do they miss a lot of school?"

Ohira looked curiously towards her, his eyebrow rising inches.

"Yes, but if you want to skip school I would recommend finding other partners."

She laughed at that. He really thought she wanted to skip school? She had done enough of that for one lifetime. This time, she intended to make it through college, get a nice job that didn't have anything to do with demons, and live comfortably and peacefully, worrying about normal things.

Normal things with no monsters or jewels involved.

"No, no, I was just curious." Glancing back, she tried to memorize their faces. Well finding them wasn't terribly hard. Now she just had to come up with a way to get the crystal from them.

As it turned out, Ohira was in fact, quite correct about the math class. Kimino-sensei muttered twice as much as he talked, and she found that not all of it was about algebra. For example, apparently the history professor from across the street at the high school was having an affair with the principal. And she had also learned that the cafeteria was serving fish today, which smelled quite terribly, and Kagome was contemplating running home for a snack after that comment.

However, English was much more interesting. The teacher was a young woman from the states who enjoyed anime, painting, and apparently something she called the "classics." The entire class would be taught in English, which was fairly disturbing, but she was much more hands on than any other teachers in her past. She assigned large amounts of homework, and Kagome balked at three different books they expected her to read in one night.

In her Japanese class, they were learning Kanji she had already learned in her past life, and so she hardly took any notes, and instead spent most of that class thinking about ways to recapture Queen Beryl's crystal.

"Well what do you think?" asked Ohira, relaxing a bit as they walked into the courtyard to eat lunch.

"About the school or classes?" she questioned, smiling as the warm sun pressed down against her.

"Either?" They sat down on a wooden bench, and she looked down in disgust at the fish. Maybe sitting in the front of the class wasn't such a good idea…

"Kimino-sensei is weird," she said and he laughed as she retold everything she had heard. "But I like English, it looks like fun."

"Yeah," said Ohira, "she's new here. This is her first year teaching so she's probably going to be very everywhere. But from what I've heard, she's quite accomplished, having written several novels in the states."

Kagome nodded and began picking at the rice on her plate.

"She seems nice, now that Japanese class on the other hand is… Ohira-san?"

He was positively drooling. Kagome laughed and turned around to see what he was staring at, and then almost gagged on the carrot half-way in her mouth.

It was her. Or rather, she looked like she had used to before the "change." She could literally feel the girl's powers, could taste the strange purity of a shrine maiden, and it burned against her skin, like nails on a chalk board. The girl was tall and pale, with hair black as a raven feather, and an aura of aloofness.

Their eyes connected for a moment, and Kagome saw the strange fire dancing behind her eyes. She turned away, feeling sick in her stomach.

"Ohira-san," she asked seriously.

"Yeah?" replied the class president, clearly enamored.

"Who is that?"

He blushed and coughed a little, returning his attention at once.

"That's Hino Rei. She's a miko, you know a shrine priestess, over at the Hikawa Shrine. Her father is a famous politician, though no one here has ever seen him. She lives with her grandfather and works after school at the shrine. There were some disappearances there for a while, but the police found everyone unconscious… It was all really confusing and the culprits were never found."

Kagome nodded, that all sounded really suspicious, and she wondered for a moment if the Sailor Senshi were involved.

"So she some girlfriend of yours?" she asked, returning to the person at hand.

"Oh no!" he replied. "I don't have enough time for girlfriends, and she's like two years my junior. But she's beautiful. Strange and beautiful…"

He was beginning to drool again, so Kagome did the only thing she could think of for the situation.

She grabbed up the weird fish on her plate and stuffed it in his face. He spat and spazzed, waving his arms while Kagome laughed uproariously, not at all deterred by his angry glare.

"You missed some," she quipped, jumping up from the table and grabbing her paper. His angry voice followed her laughter all the way down the hall and too the next class.


	3. Chapter 2

**The Thing with Feathers**

Jessylane318

**Chapter Two**

_His Heart was darker than the starless night  
For that there is a morn  
But in this black Receptacle  
Can be no Bode of Dawn_

School, as it turned out, was easier the second time around then the first. Perhaps she was a late bloomer as her mother suggested, or maybe she was just stupid—as InuYasha was prone to say—but either way, she found herself not only passing, but excelling at the material.

That is, all except her mission. It had been three days, with the weekend looming closer than ever, and Kagome had little to any progress to show about the group of outcasts. With a little snooping, Ohira had finally disclosed the group's names, taking care to lecture her about the ramifications of doing drugs, smoking, and underage drinking.

Underage, hah. She was twenty years old dammit!

Honestly, if she wanted to drink, there wasn't anybody that had any right to stop her—especially not Ohira.

"InuYasha," she whispered beneath her breath. "You're rubbing off on me…"

His foul temper and dirty mouth were the least of her worries though. _He_, at least, was more than a few lifetimes away with no way back. No, she had buried that skeleton long ago; it was this horrible crystal that was going to be the end of her.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome snuck out the back door, careful to stay outside of the cameras.

She had bought herself about three hours, assuming Ohira didn't decide to be all noble and send out the police on her. This would probably be her best chance to catch the Senshi unaware, and from what she had read on them in newspaper articles, they sounded powerful.

Ducking down behind the parking lot cars, Kagome immediately found her target straight ahead, climbing the brick wall. There were four of them total today, three girls and one boy. The boy, Yusuke, hoisted each girl up, making sure to get a feel on each of their bottoms, before climbing after them into the bushes.

Kagome glanced at the wall, and laughed inwardly. Easy, she had scaled boulders like that plenty of times in the past, with ferocious demons chasing her none-the-less. Running up this brick wall would be no problem, though she'd need to be careful not to alert the target that she was coming.

Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Kagome vaulted towards the wall and then jumped, feeling her legs pump. She almost yelled in fear when her middle smacked into the wall, thrusting into her stomach and knocking the breath out of her. Only instinct held her teetering on the side of the bricks.

In a few painful motions, she pulled herself up and into the bushes as well.

_What was that?_ She asked herself, careful to be quiet as she leaned back and inspected the damage. She should have been able to make that jump no problem.

Looking down, Kagome inspected her stomach, to see a line of bruises forming around several small cuts that stung, but didn't bleed. She looked at her knee, which she'd scraped while pulling it up, and scowled at the bloody scab already forming.

_Great, so much for hiding in the bathroom…_

Kagome slowly dropped from the wall to see where the target had gone, but the street was full of busy people, the road lined with cars. Wherever they had gone, she wouldn't find them now. She'd have to wait until tomorrow to get the chance.

Slightly depressed, Kagome climbed back across the wall, more careful this time in hoisting herself, and walked to the nurse's office, thinking up excuses as she went.

* * *

The next day Kagome walked home after school, her briefcase feeling incredibly heavy with all of the extra books packed in. She had never really loved reading, but she found the subject matters they were studying involved a great deal of extracurricular material that she would have never even attempted to learn before.

Ohira had recommended it all of course, and Kagome was beginning to wonder if this was his way of attempting to keep her out of trouble.

He had been strangely suspicious after returning with a bloody knee from tripping over a shoe-lace.

"_I have only known you a little while, Kuroda-chan, but you are hardly so… clumsy."_

The teachers, apparently, worshiped the kid's every step, and when he recommended her for extra-curricular studies due to her "bright" nature, they had all lathered on the books. The knowing smirk hidden behind his feigned apology was more than enough to suspect him of foul play.

Still, there wasn't much to do now. She had promised herself to work hard in school, how many second chances do you get?

Walking past the arcade, Kagome found herself looking at herself in the window. It was strange, even now, after several days, to look at yourself and see someone besides you. Her eyes were too far apart, too green—her lips much bigger and rounder and those crazy curls that no amount of conditioner could calm.

A dark figure blurred behind her, catching her attention.

She swung around quickly, feeling a tremor rumble through her soul.

Demon…

Looking out, she saw Yuka Kurata, one of the high school girls in the gang, running down a hill and towards town. Frowning, she began to move after her, bumping against a girl with the long blonde hair as she went. She yelled a quick apology before running after the school girl.

This might be her chance after all.

Rushing down the hill after her target, Kagome was mindful of the painful movement on her left knee. Breathing hard, she watched Kurata turn down a dark alleyway and slowed to follow, turning into the blackness.

She followed slowly, hiding around the corner before following her deeper towards the back where the trashcans were hidden. She could feel, several feet away, the slow draining energy gathering towards the creature.

After getting so close, she could tell it wasn't a demon; the auras were incredibly similar, but too different at the same time. This thing felt old, like something time had forgotten. It made her shiver with fright, and Kagome wondered again what her back luck had gotten her into now.

"Senshi!" shouted the creature, and Kagome peered behind some trash cans to look at the encounter. So maybe she had been right? Kurata was one of them!

The creature, deformed and stretched, seemed similar to a bee, except with more color and more anger.

"Stop right there! We won't let you get away with this!" cried a feminine voice, clearly a Senshi though she couldn't see them from this angle. Kagome wondered momentarily what they were talking about.

The creature didn't stop to talk and explain anymore though. A few minutes later, it blasted away parts of the building, shattering what sounded like a chain-link fence and throwing two people into walls. The young woman grit her teeth and tried not to move, listening to the battle.

She heard another blast, the Earth shaking beneath her, and for a moment, she felt herself crawl back into her memories.

_Black smoke clouds filled the clearing, billowing out from the figure overhead. The sun was gone, covered instead by thousands of demons that filled the sky. There was no end, and certainly no beginning. Darkness overwhelmed the battlefield, and the only light came from the few sparks of sunlight that gleamed through the cracks, like stars of hope._

_The Earth shook, the world crawled in motion, and Kagome lay hidden, trapped beneath a bush, Shippo pressed tight against her in an attempt to protect._

The on slaughter of glass shards shook her from her thoughts, and Kagome ducked away, shielding her head from the sharp pieces that rained a little too close to her head.

These weren't thieves… these were warriors.

"MOON FRISBEE!"

She saw the glimmer of a Frisbee spin through the alley before returning to its owner and the dying screech of the creature's last day. What was going on? She yearned to get up to look, but she didn't dare try until she knew they were gone.

Lying, cold and dirty, her briefcase clearly scuffed from the encounter, Kagome waited fifteen more minutes before slowly making her way home.

* * *

The weekend was spent pouring over old news articles that even suggested sightings of Sailor Senshi, hoping to gain some understanding of them. What she found was problematic and conflicting.

Sailor V, a rouge vigilante in Britain had been rounding up criminals and saving lives for the last few years. Her activities had inspired countless video games and manga, including the popular Sailor V: the Jewelry Heist, which had taken Japanese arcades by storm.

The other Sailor Senshi, calling themselves pretty suited soldiers (what kind of name was that?), had all appeared in Tokyo in the last few months, their arrival coinciding with several jewelry store robberies and some masked guy in a Tuxedo. The news, however, tended to portray the girls as heroes, not as thieves.

When Sunday finally arrived, Kagome spent most of her nervous energy cooking. At first she baked homemade chocolate chip cookies, only to discover she had no more eggs. So after a run to the grocery, where she bought enough food to feed an army, she began to try different Middle Eastern cuisines, including kabobs and gyros.

Her first three attempts to make pita bread failed miserably, and she ended up more with pancake styled loaves that sort of disintegrated and refused to rise. However, after she got the hang of it, she nearly set the oven on fire, trying to make too many at once.

It was that scene Kunzite stepped into when he crossed into her house.

Flour _everywhere_, with egg yolk in her hair and cheeses of three different kinds melting in a fondue pot, nearly boiling over. The kabobs, which had been long since finished, were lost beneath a mountain of foil and half-eaten cookie crumbs.

The gyros that sat semi-stuffed near the fondue pot, looked to be smoking themselves, and half-crumpled recipes lay near the floor.

Kunzite took a look at her fluster, face, curly brown hair poking out of the bandana, and bright green eyes round with surprise. She looked, almost cute, hidden behind the large apron, her lips large and pouty.

"Ah!" she said, interrupting his appraisal with as much grace as she could muster in the mess. She wiped her hands on the apron and dug the kebabs from beneath the foil, careful to fold the cookie crumbs away, attempting to hide them from his all-seeing eye. "You must be Kunzite."

He nodded and took a step forward, not bothering to bow.

She stuttered a little at his aloofness, before finishing the gyros and placing them on the table as well, next to what was left of her homemade pita bread and some hummus she salvaged from the blender. He raised an eyebrow, but she ignored it, determined.

"Please sit," she said, motioning towards the table. He looked as if he'd rather not, but she guessed that manners kicked in at last, because he walked towards the chairs before gracefully sitting in one of the regal wooden seats.

He moved like a tiger, she noticed at once, prowling with grace, but clear deadliness.

Sitting across from him, she found herself floundering again under his heavy stare.

When she had imagined what he looked like, it hadn't been this. Long silver tresses and frozen blue eyes, he reminded her of InuYasha's half-brother, Sesshomaru, except without the whole, I-will-kill-you-on-sight thing going on…

Kagome fiddled with the napkin, before grabbing a kabob and offering him one as well.

"No thank you," he replied, looking at the food distastefully. "I am not hungry."

She put the stick of meat down and looked at all of the food she had spent the last six hours making before sighing.

_I will not cry,_ she whispered in her mind. _I will not cry._

"That's fine, I'm not all that hungry either," she said, somewhat dejected. She had been so nervous, she had ended up eating half of the food she cooked anyways.

"The amount of food you cooked certainly says otherwise," replied the general calmly, his eyes glancing around the apartment, inspecting. "It appears you have fared well enough this last week." His eyes glanced towards the small cut on her cheek, caused by the battle she'd spied. "What happened?"

"It was…" she trailed off tracing the line, trying to word how to ask all the questions she'd been dying to ask for the last week. "That is…"

"Start at the beginning," he ordered, watching her intensely.

She nodded and explained everything, except the phone call to her parents' shrine. She did go into detail about the gang of friends that exuded negative energy, who she had followed, and the ensuing battle. A delicate eyebrow rose when she got to the part about the shattering glass.

He was a good listener overall though, much better than InuYasha had ever been. He hummed and nodded at all the right places and she found herself drawing closer to his solidity. He reminded her of a mountain, proud and tall, unwavering to the howling wind.

"I see," he finally responded, several minutes after her tale. She watched his face for signs of what he was thinking, but he seemed unresponsive, as if he had fallen into a sleep with his eyes wide open. If not for her time amongst never-sleeping demons, she might have waved her hand all over his face, making sure he was still in there.

But the feudal had taught her quite a bit about self-preservation.

"_**Knock it off bitch," clamored InuYasha, his arms crossed in annoyance. "Just because I'm not looking doesn't mean I can't hear you."**_

"_**Well you could stop being a jerk and respond!" she huffed, upset and annoyed and terribly aggravated at his lack of hygiene.**_

"_**We don't have time to stop and bathe, I've already told you. We need to be moving…"**_

"_**It's been four days, and I stink!"**_

"_**No doubt about that," replied the demon, and she'd had enough.**_

"_**SIT!"**_

_**The satisfying lurch of the demon being dragged into the dirt by his rosary, made her smile.**_

"_**That's what I thought…"**_

"That's what I thought…"

Kagome snapped back to attention to see the general staring at her curiously, almost (dare she think it?) amused.

"What… I mean, you thought?"

"You're attention span is quite extensive I see." She sputtered at that, not quite sure what to say, but feeling suddenly harassed. He pushed on, ignoring her reaction and developing a more serious tone. "I am here to give you a more extensive explanation about the crystal and your role in its retrieval."

"You were chosen because of your extensive powers as a priestess, we believe this will help you to uncover the Senshi's identities by recognizing their power. From you're story, I see that you were the right choice, though you appear to be targeting the wrong crowd."

Kagome burrowed her eyebrows, clearly confused.

"But they're thieves?"

He sighed and shook his head, before leveling her with a heavy stare.

"The Senshi themselves are not thieves, it is the princess they guard. She took the crystal, but her warriors refuse to give up either her location or the whereabouts of the crystal. The entire story is too long and difficult to try and explain, but somehow the princess has convinced them all that _they_ are the good guys and we are the bad."

She nodded, that added up with the news lines and she knew from experience just how gullible a crowd of people could be.

"They will try to confuse you," he said confidently. "They have changed our name even, we are the _Other_ Kingdom, but they call us Dark instead. In attempts to capture the soldiers, we are forced to drain civilian energy. It serves two purposes though; it forces the Senshi out of hiding, and gives us enough energy to revive the Queen's powers."

"You drain…"

"It is not to the death," he said, calming the friction beneath her skin. "Human's give off a lot of energy just from being their exuberant selves and we take only enough to cause them to pass out. It makes the Senshi come running."

"No doubt," Kagome said, beginning to understand. Her target wasn't the obvious bad kids then; that made things a whole lot harder.

"What did you mean by revive?" she asked.

"The crystal is what allows the Queen to rule her empire, without it she cannot attempt to protect our people."

"There are more of you?" Kagome asked, suddenly very curious.

He gave her a hard looking, almost as if judging whether to give out that information.

"Yes," he finally said. "There are three other generals, but the Senshi killed our lowest ranking officer last week. No doubt you heard of the Hikawa Shrine?"

She nodded, her eyes wide. He had only just lost his friend? She felt a wave of sympathy rush over her. She still remembered the pain that Kouga's death had caused. It had taken weeks to overcome the need to cry and the horrible rage that had darkened her heart.

She felt her respect for him increase.

"Sailor Mars' appearance was completely unexpected, and we believe that she is the one responsible as the other two were trapped without an escape."

Kagome nodded, her heart yearning for the others.

"Do you think your friends will be hungry?" she asked, standing up and grabbing all of the food and putting it in some Tupperware she had found on discount. "I imagine they will be soon, especially with all of the work you're all doing. Here! This will definitely make them feel better, 'cause a homemade meal always makes me feel good."

She quickly pushed three large containers into his arms, noticing at once a sword hanging at his side.

"Oh! And before I forget, which button do I press on the communicator?"

His eyebrow twitched, and she swore she could see a smile poking through the expressionless face.

"The silver one will allow you to get in contact with me," replied the general as he stood, gracefully balancing the dishes in his large hands. He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but instead nodded, waving his hand out and making a vortex of swirling energy appear beside him.

"We will be in touch," he added, one last hard look at her, before disappearing in a swirl of purple.

When she was sure he was gone, Kagome collapsed on the soft plush of the sofa, staring at the ceiling. Gods, that was harder than she had ever expected. She looked at the watch on her wrist and scowled, dragging her eyes over the intricate numbers.

It was 6 p.m. already and she still had a ton of history left to read. Apparently the teacher felt like they needed to understand every intricacy of the Edo political situation before the next class. And then there was that mess of a kitchen she needed to clean.

"Ick," she muttered. "Next time I'm ordering out…"


End file.
